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Magyk (book)
Magyk is the first book in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. The cover is modelled after the Apprentice Diary, given to Septimus Heap by ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Marcia Overstrand with the Dragon Ring lying on top.. The book was released in March 2005. Plot The book begins outside of The Castle, in The Ramblings. Here, we find Silas Heap trudging through the snow with some herbal medicines for his wife Sarah Heap. Just outside the castle Silas finds an infant baby girl with violet eyes, stranded in the snow, and wrapped in a blanket. He hides her in his cloak and takes her with him. Upon returning to a castle, he learns about the succession of Marcia Overstrand as ExtraOrdinary Wizard. He meets her in an alley way before he gets back and she tells him to keep the baby he found, raise her as his own and if anyone asks, acknowledge her as his daughter. Just as he is out to enter his house, the matron midwife runs out carrying his newborn son Septimus Heap (who has been predicted to have extraordinary powers as he is the seventh son of a seventh son) wrapped in cloth and pronouncing him dead. Silas names the baby girl Jenna and raises the child and protects her like his own child. The story revolves around the events of the time ten years after this incident, starting when Marcia comes to take Jenna in her to protection to stop her from being assassinated. At which point, Marcia also reveals Jenna as the previous Queen's daughter. Marcia takes Jenna away to protect her from an Assassin. Marcia saves Boy 412, a mysterious boy in the Young Army, outside the Wizard Tower from freezing to death, and takes him with them to her room in the tower. Silas, Nicko, and Maxie then come to visit Jenna in the tower. But before they are there for an hour, the Assassin arrives to kill Jenna. Marcia defends Jenna, and they all escape the tower through the rubbish chute. The chute leads them to a dump next to the docks where Nicko helps the group sail away on the Muriel, which is given to them by Sally, Sarah Heap's friend. Secretly in return, Marcia lends Sally her KeepSafe. The Hunter, a henchmen of the Supreme Custodian, is sent to chase them. Marcia uses a Reverse Spell to Project the Muriel, the boat that they're sailing on, and distract the Hunter, upon which he loses the groups trail, and has to return to the castle. Nicko, aided by Silas, sails the group to the island where Aunt Zelda lives; a cottage in the Marram Marshes. On the island, Boy 412 wanders around the marshes, falls into a pit with a large cavern in it, and finds a ring that glows when he places it on his finger. He keeps the ring a secret for sometime though. Marcia then walks with Boy 412, and shows him a charm that Alther, the old ExtraOrdinary Wizard gave to her when she was his Apprentice. Marcia sees that Boy 412 has potential, and asks him to become her Apprentice, but he refuses. Aunt Zelda also helps Jenna, Nicko, and Boy 412 make shield bugs to protect themselves. Marcia then tries to use her Midnight Minutes to protect herself when she goes back to the Wizard Tower because of a letter that said that she should go back. But then she gets captured by the Custodian Guards because she got her Midnight Minutes wrong. A few more weeks pass until the Hunter discover the groups location with Aunt Zelda, in the marshes, and returns to assassinate Jenna. Jenna and Boy 412 defend themselves by using shield bugs, and Aunt Zelda uses a Freezing Spell on the Hunter. Soon after the Hunter was frozen, they try to figure out the identity of DomDaniel's Apprentice, who claims to be Septimus when they capture him. Nicko firmly denies it after seeing what treachery the apprentice could do. Then, the Apprentice escapes and tells DomDaniel of their location. A bit after that, Aunt Zelda tells Boy 412 that the ring is the legendary Hotep-Ra's dragon ring which gives him control over the Dragon Boat. Aunt Zelda gives Boy 412 a book with the legend of Hotep-Ra. The legend says that Hotep-ra, the first ExtraOrdinary Wizard, was being pursued by people planning to kill him. Therefore, the dragon became a boat to save her mastser and before Hotep-Ra died he put the boat in his hidden temple. Afterward, Boy 412 soon begins to become interested in the art of Magyk, and the mysteries surrounding the ring. Aunt Zelda later tells Boy 412 that the cave in which he found the ring is connected to a secret cavern containing Hotep-ra's temple, and within it, the Dragon Boat. The boat was used by Boy 412, Nicko and Jenna in order to save Marcia and stop DomDaniel from being the ExtraOrdinary Wizard again. The boat talks to Jenna inside her head because she is the Princess. Only Boy 412 can fly and steer the boat. They rescue Marcia, and Boy 412 agrees to become Marcia's Apprentice. Later, they discover during the apprentice banquet that Boy 412 is really Septimus Heap, the presumed dead son of Silas Heap. Chapters 1-7 *Ch. 1 - Something in the Snow *Ch. 2 - Sarah and Silas *Ch. 3 - The Supreme Custodian *Ch. 4 - Marcia Overstrand *Ch. 5 - At the Heaps *Ch. 6 - To the Tower *Ch. 7 - Wizard Tower Chapters 8-14 *Ch. 8 - The Rubbish Chute *Ch. 9 - Sally Mullin's Cafe *Ch. 10 - The Hunter *Ch. 11 - The Trail *Ch. 12 - Muriel *Ch. 13 - The Chase *Ch. 14 - Deppen Ditch Chapters 15-21 *Ch. 15 - Midnight at the Beach *Ch. 16 - The Boggart *Ch. 17 - Alther Alone *Ch. 18 - Keeper's Cottage *Ch. 19 - Aunt Zelda *Ch. 20 - Boy 412 *Ch. 21 - Rattus Rattus Chapters 22-28 *Ch. 22 - Magyk *Ch. 23 - Wings *Ch. 24 - Shield Bugs *Ch. 25 - The Wendron Witch *Ch. 26 - Midwinter Feast Day *Ch. 27 - Stanley's Journey *Ch. 28 - The Big Freeze Chapters 29-35 *Ch. 29 - Pythons and Rats *Ch. 30 - Message for Marcia *Ch. 31 - The Rat's Return *Ch. 32 - The Big Thaw *Ch. 33 - Watch and Wait *Ch. 34 - Ambush *Ch. 35 - Gone to Ground Chapters 36-42 *Ch. 36 - Frozen *Ch. 37 - Scrying *Ch. 38 - Defrosting *Ch. 39 - The Appointment *Ch. 40 - The Meeting *Ch. 41 - The Vengeance *Ch. 42 - The Storm Chapters 43-49 *Ch. 43 - The Dragon Boat *Ch. 44 - To Sea *Ch. 45 - Ebb Tide *Ch. 46 - A Visitor *Ch. 47 - The Apprentice *Ch. 48 - The Apprentice Supper *Ch. 49 - Septimus Heap Other material *What Aunt Zelda Saw in the Duck Pond *After... Characters The Heaps *Septimus Heap: Believed to have died as a new born, he is the seventh son of a seventh son and the protagonist of the series. However, Septimus is alive and well under the name Boy 412, a conscript of the Young Army who is rescued from freezing to death while standing guard. He becomes an unwilling participant in the events of the book. Septimus is the dumbest heap. *Zelda Heap: The Keeper in the Marram Marshes, also known as Aunt Zelda. *Silas Heap: The Patriarch Heap and seventh son of Benjamin Heap. *Sarah Heap: The Matriarch Heap. *Simon Heap: 1st son of Sarah and Silas Heap - runs away from his family in order to get married to Lucy Gringe, but doesn't due to her father interrupting the ceremony. *Sam Heap: 2nd son of Sarah and Silas Heap. Expert fisher. Lives in the forest with Erik, Edd, Jo-Jo, and the Witches. *Erik Heap: 3rd son of Sarah and Silas Heap, twin of Edd. Lives in the forest with Sam, Edd, Jo-Jo, and the Witches. *Edd Heap: 4th son of Sarah and Silas Heap, twin of Erik. Lives in the forest with Sam, Erik, Jo-Jo, and the Witches. *Jo-Jo Heap: 5th son of Sarah and Silas Heap. Lives in the forest with Sam, Erik, Edd, and the Witches. *Nicko Heap: 6th son of Sarah and Silas, he loves boats and anything to do with sailing. *Jenna Heap: She is the Princess, but was raised by the Heaps unknowingly. Other characters *Marcia Overstrand: The current ExtraOrdinary Wizard, she has a pair of special Purple Python-Skinned Shoes and is known for her short temper and immense magical power. *Merrin Meredith: He became DomDaniel's apprentice who claims to have rescued him from a poor disgraceful family. *Stanley (or Rat 101): The Long-Distance Confidential Message Rat who was fired and later became a Secret Rat. *DomDaniel: The Necromancer and ex-Extraordinary Wizard. He's the main antagonist in this series. *Alther Mella: The ghost of the old Extraordinary Wizard, who aids Jenna and Septimus. *Galen: Sarah Heap's friend in the woods who is a garden witch. She taught Sarah about herbs and plants. When Sarah was younger she met Silas Heap in Galen's garden. *Maxie: Rightly named Maximillan, this faithful Abyssinian wolfhound that belongs to the Heaps has no real part in the book, but he makes Marcia go crazy mostly at Aunt Zelda's cottage and believes that Silas is top dog. *Sally Mullin: Sally Mullin runs a Tea and Ale House by the river near The Castle. She helps the others escape from the Hunter by her small boat Muriel but loses her shop to the fire set by the Hunter. She escapes unharmed, as Marcia gave her the KeepSafe, and goes to join Sarah and Galen in the woods. *Petroc Trelawney: Jenna's pet pebble, given to her by her dad, Silas, when she turned 10 years old. Petroc Trelawney is a smooth gray pebble with little black eyes, 4 stumpy legs, and a chin, which you can tickle. Silas brought the pebble from the Roving Rock Shop. This is a regular pebble who needs a walk everyday, sleeps, and doesn't need to be fed too much, or it could be very heavy and lazy. *Spit Fyre: Septimus's pet "Rock" that turns out to be a dragon egg. Critical reception Magyk has received mostly positive and generally praiseful reviews and comments from Publishers Weekly, and The Times who stated that it was 'A real discovery'. Publishers Weekly also commented: The author introduces several subplots, summarized rather than dramatized then eventually reveals the real Septimus in a clever, if predictable, turn of events, making way for the next installments. Ages 9-up. VOYA gave a positive review saying "This first book in the Septimus Heap series is a cheerful, clever offering." However, there were some negative points raised by VOYA commenting the two things about the book that were most annoying was: the lack of a map inside the book and overly coincidental events. Later maps were included in all the books. Maps depicted The Castle as well as the surrounding land in the south up till The Port. Other reviews from The Daily Telegraph and Kirkus Reviews commented the novel was "Full of hurtle-paced humour" and "A quick–reading, stand–alone, deliciously spellbinding series". Author Clive Barker also commented that: Septimus Heap: Magyk is a book full of wonders, charms, and surprises. Beautifully written and richly imagined, it invites us into a world we never want to leave. Marvelous. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books was impressed by the book and said "This first book in the Septimus Heap series is a cheerful, clever offering." Stefanie Crane of Epinions.com gave the book 4 out of 5 stars and said "Angie Sage has told a fast-paced story with enough originality and touches of her own to make you forget all about that boy who lived, a reference to Harry Potter. I think it’s too bad that this series hasn’t gotten the advertising it deserves, and if you have any interest at all in the plot I’ve laid out above, or if you were a fan of that other series, by all means, give Magyk a try." Dauntless Media also gave a positive review saying that "Magyk is a worthy beginning to a fantasy series. There’s enough action and adventure to keep most young readers’ attention throughout its 512 pages, the twist itself is certainly the central character revelation of the book and leads directly to the rest of the series." Angela McQuay of Curledupkids.com gave an extremely favourable review saying "Magyk is a fast-moving and touching book with plenty of adventure, creatures, charms, spells and bad guys to keep both children and adults interested. Though you don’t get to know the characters as well as you do in the Potter books, there is more action, to keep you turning the pages. Charms and spells are capitalized and written in a different font, making it easier for youngsters to recognize them and also lending a magical quality to the book itself." Trivia *The author, Angie Sage, includes a section about the number 7 in the "Extras" section of the paperback edition. This includes a list of hidden sevens. For example: **There are 49 chapters: 7 times 7 = 49 **Boy 412 - (4 + 1 + 2 = 7) **The Heap's new address: Corridor 223, Room 16 - (2 + 2 + 3 = 7, 1 + 6 = 7) **In Chapter 28 (which itself is a multiple of 7), the Apprentice learns up to 13 times 7. **Thirteen is the number that is one away from fourteen, which is also a multiple of 7. *The audiobook edition of Magyk is the only title in the series narrated by Allan Corduner. Future installments would be narrated by Gerard Doyle. The audiobook edition of Magyk also includes original music not used in the latter audiobook installments. pt-br:Magya de:Magyk Category:Septimus Heap series